Now, Sports Mode....great for accelerating, but it SUCKS when it comes to downshifts(since the idea is that you will be accelerating again). Again, think about the purpose of sports mode, better acceleration. When you have to down-shift, the sports mode sets it to be revving high so you can quickly accelerate again and it is already in the "meat of gear, so is ready for you to upshift right after you have downshifted". That behavior is NOT good IMO, so what I normally do is go to sport mode for accelerating, then shift it back to regular drive once I have hit the speed I want to be going. If I have to decelerate, sticking with drive is better, so I'll go back to sports mode if I want to quickly accelerate again.

I agree with Tony407. I think the Sports mode is great for downshifts. It puts you in a lower gear for better acceleration. There's no need to upshift right after you have downshifted. If you want an even lower gear, hit the "-" button, if your car is so-equipped.

Where I disagree with Tony is that I find the Sport mode very useful for acceleration. Yes, if puts you in a lower gear. That's the point. And if Sport gives you 3rd gear, for example, and you need even more acceleration, hit the - button and get more acceleration in second gear.

It all works great IMO and isn't any different than how many traditional automatics work. Many cars have a sport mode and + & - functions. The + and - functions are not built into the shift lever, as they are on the Focus (I think the Focus' buttons are more convenient than moving the shift lever), but they work the same way.